Short height no barrier to success - My Take by Harendra Trivedi, India's 1st World Dwarf Table Tennis Champ

His short height made him the target of much teasing in childhood,
but India’s first World Dwarf TT champion Harendra Trivedi says his
achievements have shown that lack of height has little to do with
ability.

My introduction to table tennis happened when I was quite young. I was about
eight years old and I stumbled onto the game by accident.

One day I had to miss school and went to meet a friend who was playing table
tennis at a local club in Ujjain, where I am from. I was
fascinated by the game and asked him to teach me. His response was to insult
me.

My friend laughed at me and said, ‘you are shorter than the table tennis
table. You will never be able to play’. I felt very insulted and I could
not sleep that night. I made up my mind that I would somehow learn the
game.

Keen interest

I started going to the club regularly to watch people play table tennis and
learn. One day a senior player by the name of Manohar Sharma
took note of my interest and offered to train me. I started playing regularly
under his training.

Mr Sharma was a university-level player and regularly played at the club. He
took a lot of interest in me and encouraged me a lot. I trained under him for
eight to 10 years. It was under his guidance that I won the junior-level
title in table tennis in Ujjain district. From then on I started playing at
the state level.

Sharma helped me improve my game in the early years in a major way. He
taught me defensive tactics. Above all, he taught me the importance of
fitness and working out regularly. Sharma would tell me, ‘You have to
work 100% harder than able bodied players to better your game and match
them.’

I took his words very seriously. Every morning I would hit the training
grounds one hour before all the other players came in. I would run and
stretch and do many other exercises. This helped improve my fitness
tremendously. It gave me a major advantage as I was able to
cover the length and breadth of the table tennis table very easily. This
helped me overcome the disadvantages of my short height.

After Sharma, the other coach who had a major role to play in enhancing my
game was Motilal Purania, whom I met at a state-level
tournament. I joined a 21-day camp which he was running where I learned a
lot. Purania helped me hone my top spin shot.

One particular player to whom I owe a lot of Kamlesh Mehta, six-time
national champion in table tennis. Mehta was the highest ranked Indian
table tennis player in Asia and the Commonwealth, and was a great teacher
to me. He would often come to Indore for games and we would meet. He would
take the time out to watch my game and give me tips and motivate me.

Like Mehta, many senior players have helped me. Jan-Ove Voldner,
a former player from Sweden, is someone I hold in high esteem. I have never
met him but I used to watch his videos closely and learn. He is known as one
of the greatest table tennis players and I was always inspired by his
competitive streak. Watching his videos helped me polish my top
spin shots further.

It’s the new players who would mock me or take me lightly because of my
dwarfism. They would think I was too short to play competently. I would just
tell them ‘Come and play against me and I will show you’. I would always
beat them. They could never return my deep top shot. That is my edge, one
that few can return.

Over 30 years of experience

Since 1978 I have been playing table tennis. I am 52 years old
and I have played at state, national, and international-level competitions.

My high points are many. One was beating the state champion from Madhya
Pradesh at a national-level event. Then last year, I beat a top ranked
Chinese player to win the 2017 World Dwarf Championship title in
Ontario, Canada.

I also represented India at the 15th World Veteran Table Tennis event and won
the 2014 Para National Championship in table tennis.

Now I mostly play veterans matches. Just recently, I played at a
Veterans’ Event in Jaipur. Playing table tennis matches alone is not
often to sustain a livelihood. I coach at a private school and in the
evening I train experienced players at a local club. I invite those who
show potential at the school to train at the club.

I see a lot of potential in the younger generation dwarf table tennis
players, especially Om Lotikar from Maharashtra. He plays very
well and I see him bringing great name for India.

People make fun of my lack of height even today. I still face comments like
‘he is shorter than the table’. I have learned to ignore them and not
feel bad. I know they say it out of ignorance.

What I choose to take heart from is the support I have received in my journey
over the years from players and authorities. People like para TT players
Dhanraj Chaudhary, who regularly organizes events as well as Jayesh Acharya
and Pramod Gangrade, who are associated with the Madhya Pradesh table tennis
associations.

Today my goal is to motivate other dwarf table tennis players. I tell them
not to feel shy or embarrassed, but to work hard at their game. My message
to them is to work very hard at whatever they do. If you have a disability,
you have to work 100% harder and no one can stop you.

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Hi, I’m Bhavna Sharma. An Inclusion Strategist with Newz Hook. Yes, I am a person with disability. But that doesn’t define who I am. I am a youth, a woman and also the 1st Miss Disability of India 2013. I wanted to achieve something in life and I have been working for the last 9 years. I have recently completed my MBA in Human Resources because I want to grow. I am like every other young person in India. I want a good education, a good job and I want to help my family financially. So you can see I am like everyone else, yet people see me differently.

Here is the Ask Bhavna column for you where I would like to talk to you about the law, society and people’s attitudes and how we can build inclusion in India together.

So, if you have a question about any issue related to disability, bring them out and I can try to answer them? It could be a question relating to a policy or of a personal nature. Well, this is your space to find the answers!